Mary-Catherine Pazzano

Mary-Catherine Pazzano (Vocals)

“Pazzano shines throughout with energy and luscious tone, as she soars with her quartet. Pazzano possesses a gorgeous, classically trained contralto voice capable of projecting the full gamut of emotions, as well as an uncanny skill with rendering the lyrics of current music, jazz standards and show tunes.” –Lesley Mitchell-Clarke, The WholeNote Magazine  

For over a decade, Mary-Catherine has been working actively as a jazz singer, freelance vocalist, music educator, vocal coach, recording artist, and music director. She has shared the stage with jazz notables such as Mark Eisenman, Pat Collins, and NYC’s Billy Stritch. Mary-Catherine’s concert career has taken her across North America, including stops Off-Broadway and the iconic Birdland in New York City. When Mary-Catherine isn’t performing, she is Music Director at Knox Church in Uptown Waterloo, and for the Waterloo Regional Police Chorus. She also teaches vocal ensembles at Wilfrid Laurier University. She has recorded 2 vocal jazz albums as leader, including the “vocally flawless” (Take Effect Reviews) Christmas: Live at The Jazz Room, released in November 2022. 

marycatherinepazzano.com

Matthew Rait (Guitar)

Matthew completed a Ph.D in musicology in 2019. Matthew has extensive performance and research experience in the study of jazz and popular music and has completed his dissertation entitled “The Music of Sting”. He has had the opportunity to interview prominent artists such as Sting, Branford Marsalis, Rob Mathes, Laila Biali, and Jason Rebello throughout his academic career. Matthew has performed with notable musicians such as: Barry Elmes, Lenny Boyd, Pat Collins, Lorne Lofsky, Ian Bell, Shane Cook and Benjamin Dakota Rogers and can be heard in collaboration with other artists. Matthew’s style is influenced by guitarists Ed Bickert, Lenny Breau and Joe Pass. He has recorded with trombonist Ron Westray on Jimi Jazz and Magisteria, with Chris Rait on Waiting, I Want to Look at the Moon and Verbatim and his own release, 6th Line. Matthew has performed live at several festivals in Ontario including: the Orillia Jazz Festival, the Barrie Jazz and Blues Festival, the Orangeville Jazz and Blues Festival and The Mill Race Festival of Traditional Folk Music. He also plays regularly with the folk group called The Treeline. Matthew has taught at York University as a graduate student and more recently as a contract faculty member at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Pat Collins (Bass)

Originally from Qualicum Beach, B.C., bassist Pat Collins moved to Toronto in 1988 and has become one of the more active bassists on the Canadian Jazz Scene.  Pat has performed with such legendary musicians as Oscar Peterson, Joe Henderson, Dizzy Gillespie, Herb Ellis, Jimmy Cobb and Lee Konitz.  He has also performed with legendary Canadian musicians as Moe Koffman, Rob McConnell, Ed Bickert, Peter Appleyard and Don Thompson. In January, 2005, Pat released his first CD as a leader, on Cornerstone Records, entitled “In the Moment” featuring some of Canada’s premier jazz musicians, Mike Murley, Reg Schwager and Barry Elmes. The CD has received rave reviews, including “In the Moment is a CD that’s very easy to like”, (Richard Bourcier, JazzReview.com), and “This is a classy contribution to the jazz canon”, (Geoff Chapman, Toronto Star). The Pat Collins Quartet was nominated for a 2005 National Jazz Award as “Acoustic Group of the Year”, “Album of the Year” in 2006, and Pat was nominated as “Acoustic Bassist of the Year” in 2005 and 2006. In May 2020, Pat released his second CD as a leader, also on Cornerstone Records.  It's a trio recording featuring two of Canada's premier jazz musicians, Tom Szczesniak on accordion, and Reg Schwager on guitar. The album is entitled, "Time Well Spent" and features compositions by all members of the trio, as well as tunes by Paul Simon and Michel Legrand. Pat is also an educator, and is on the full-time music faculty of Mohawk College, in Hamilton, Ontario.  Pat also taught for many years at Humber College in Toronto, as well as many summer music camps including the Interprovincial Music Camp, Kincardine Summer Music Festival and the National Music Camp.  Pat is currently on the faculty of the Prairielands Jazz Camp in Regina, Saskatchewan as well as the Jazz for Adults camp at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. Pat is active as an adjudicator and clinician at music festivals across Canada, including Musicfest Canada, The Golden Horseshoe Musicfest, and the West Coast Jazz Festival.